Erik Smith, who grew up in Oakley and spent his time snowboarding at Park City’s resorts, was in a University of Utah chemistry class when he learned the role of petroleum in the medical field. Different byproducts of the nonrenewable carbon source make up many important medications. Another form of petroleum, paraffin wax, is the primary ingredient in ski waxes.

As he was in class, worlds collided between his studies and his passion for snowboarding. Smith realized something needed to change in the ski and snowboard industry.

“If petroleum is nonrenewable (and we) use it for medications and the pharmaceuticals we rely on, but why are we putting it in ski wax? That’s crazy,” Smith said.

Ski waxes are historically made from paraffin wax, a petroleum byproduct, and a type of fluorocarbons, or fluoros, called PFAS. The wax serves as a base, and the fluoros, which are typically water-resistant, help with speed.

When skiers and snowboarders use petroleum and fluoro waxes, the chemicals enter the snow and they remain in the local ecosystem forever because they don’t biodegrade.

Years later, as a side project to keep his mind off dental school applications, Smith was working on making a petroleum-free ski wax. The side project eventually developed into Board Budder, an eco-friendly ski and snowboard wax company. 

In 2022, the same winter Smith was working on an eco-friendly wax, Park City released its study on fluorocarbons in drinking water. Park City’s fluoro ban came after an evaluation of the water supply which traced contamination to ski wax. 

“That was when I really started to focus on every ingredient being readily biodegradable, clean, sustainable, and without realizing it then … Board Budder was born,” Smith said. 

Smith said that Board Budder wouldn’t be what it is without Park City, the mental clarity he had while snowboarding at the resorts and the city’s environmental regulations.

“We’ve worked with Park City Angels and have had great investors who are passionate about what we’re doing and passionate about solving the problem in Park City,” Smith said. “They’ve really helped us have the means to accomplish everything we’ve done so far.” 

Smith added that the Board Budder mission statement is to “accelerate the adoption of sustainable products in the outdoor industry.”

Smith also explained what he calls “The Paper Straw Metaphor” to guide product development.

“It’s the idea of making a product eco-friendly, but it performs half as well. If it doesn’t perform as well as a plastic straw, then people will use it once and then not use it again,” Smith said. “The paper straw is the example we use to talk about the gap between performance and eco-friendly.”

When Smith began working on his product, there weren’t many eco-friendly waxes on the market. Those that were available didn’t match the quality of the traditional petroleum-based waxes. His goal was to make a wax that was all natural, biodegradable, nontoxic, and still high-performance.

“Mass adoption of eco-friendly products isn’t going to happen if the product costs twice as much and performs half as well. So what we’re trying to do is accelerate that adoption by bridging that gap,” Smith said.

The crew at Board Budder knows ski wax won’t solve all of the world’s climate problems, or even those within the outdoor recreation industry, but Board Budder hopes its model of high-performance, eco-friendly products can be applied to other areas of the industry.

Josie Tanasse, director of marketing, emphasized the diverse education and work backgrounds of their team. Having staff with expertise in material engineering and chemistry brings a unique perspective to developing new products, especially when considering the need to find new, sustainable materials. 

“There hasn’t been research done on this whole line of natural, biodegradable waxes and oils and carbon sources. It’s massive, but it hasn’t been looked into, because there hasn’t been a need to do that yet,” Smith said. “This could definitely be applied to other areas of the outdoor industry.”

Smith said that when he first learned about the realities of petroleum use, he had anxiety over his own environmental impacts. That kind of anxiety is a common experience, Smith said, and it can be very overwhelming when trying to switch to eco-friendly products.

At Board Budder, they want to make sustainability exciting and keep people stoked about skiing and snowboarding, without making people feel depressed and anxious about the environment. 

Tanasse said the Board Budder team thinks about the difference between offsetting environmental impact versus reducing impact. 

A company offsetting its carbon footprint isn’t a bad thing, Smith said, but that means the impact is still the same. At Board Budder, Smith and Tanasse said they’re aiming to reduce their initial impact with long-term sustainability in mind, for the environment and practices as their business expands.  

Easton Lewis, director of manufacturing and operations, said that especially with the Winter Olympics returning to Utah, he hopes that the community can be a model for sustainable products. 

“The spotlight is right here,” Lewis said.

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